Hear a story about the American coot.
Hear an American coot.

adapted from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

The ubiquitous coot can be found on almost any lake, pond, marsh or bay in Texas, especially along the coast. It breeds locally throughout the state but is especially abundant during migration and in the winter, when it withdraws from the icebound northern portions of its range. It occurs from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Ecuador.

Many sections of the country have their own colloquial names for this strange bird with the body and habits of a duck, the bill of a chicken, the lobed toes of a grebe, and the family lineage of the rails and gallinules. The coot is called the "mud hen" in the Midwest. In Louisiana and East Texas it is the "poule d'eau."

Some 130 species of coots, rails and gallinules (Family Rallidae) occur around the world in habitats ranging from dense jungle swamps to remote oceanic islands. These marsh birds have stubby, soft, upturned tails and short, rounded wings.

The American coot is dark slate-gray, with a black head and neck and white undertail coverts. The white bill, encircled by a dark ring, extends up onto the forehead in a small, brownish shield. Coots are conspicuous and noisy birds, aggressively defending their territories. They "splatter" across the water with flapping wings to confront intruders, uttering a vocal barrage of croaks, squawks, grunts and cackles.

Coots prefer to nest in weedy freshwater marshes and wetlands but assemble in large flocks on both fresh and salt water in winter. Their omnivorous diet includes marsh plants, algae, seeds, roots, snails, worms, aquatic insects and small fish.

The coot is one of Texas' most common water birds. It is also one of the most adaptable. In places where bird populations are in decline, the American coot serves as an indicator species of the health and future of our vital wetlands.

More Facts... The American coot is the only coot species to inhabit the U.S. It is a year-round resident in Texas. Coots frequently feed with ducks, picking up water plants and animals stirred up by the ducks' feet. They feed from the surface like the dabbling ducks but are also capable of diving. Coots fly only when under duress and are capable of long migrations. The female lays 6 to 15 eggs in a saucer-like nest made of reeds or on a raft of dead vegetation.

More Links Drawing and tips on how to identify the American coot. USGS website with photos and scientific data on the American coot.